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| This story, along with the photo used in this article, was emailed to me by Chicago News Report reader, CNN Editorial Producer, Liz Belanger. Diane Latiker is the woman in red. |
In an effort to make a difference, a Chicago grandmother in the Roseland neighborhood, an area known for its intense gang violence, has opened her home and her heart to the troubled children in her community.
54-year-old Diane Latiker has made her share of mistakes in life. Several decades ago, Latiker dropped out of high school and by the time she was 25-years-old, she was the mother of seven children.
Eventually, Latiker got her act together and even went back to school to get her GED.
When the mother of seven and grandmother of thirteen began to notice that "we are losing a generation to violence", she decided to get involved.
Latiker's initial concerns over losing one of her own children to street violence, blossomed into a neighborhood oasis for every at-risk youth in Latiker's Roseland community. The brave Chicago woman began mentoring and tutoring other people's children right in her own living room.
"They say I'm a nut because I let kids into my home who I didn't even know," said the 54-year-old community activist.
In 2003, Latiker started "Kids Off The Block", an organization that's design to keep children off the streets, out of trouble, and focused on getting an education.
Latiker has also started a headstone memorial as a shocking reminder of the lives lost to gun violence in Chicago.
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